Prof. Zachary Davis in the Defense News and Army Times: Counterproliferation. What would happen if the United States had to fight in countries that possess weapons of mass destruction, and soldiers stumble on unfamiliar dangers?

Arquilla Interview with PRI's The WorldThe Cold War is over but the "Cool War" is on. Professor Arquilla tells host Lisa Mullins that Russia's military is reasserting itself on the world stage and that in the "quiet arms race" the Russians are gaining a step on America.

Associate Professor Freeman has won the 2014 Richard W. Hamming Annual Faculty Award for Achievement in Teaching. Professor Freeman excelled in all three criteria for the Hamming award: outstanding teaching, excellence in thesis supervision, and strength of contribution to NPS students beyond the classroom. Congratulations!

In the wake of 9/11, policy analysts, journalists, and academics have tried to make sense of the rise of militant Islam, particularly its role as a motivating and legitimating force for violence against the United States. The general perception is that Islam is more violence prone than other religions and that scripture and beliefs within the faith, such as the doctrines of jihad and martyrdom, demonstrate the inherently violent nature of Islam.

Here, however, Heather S. Gregg draws comparisons across religious traditions to investigate common causes of religious violence. The author sets side by side examples of current and historic Islamic violence with similar acts by Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu adherents.

Based on her findings, Gregg challenges the assumption that religious violence stems from a faith’s scriptures. Instead, Gregg argues that religious violence is the result of interpretations of a religion’s beliefs and scriptures. Interpretations calling for violence in the name of a faith are the product of individuals, but it is important to understand the conditions under which these violent interpretations of a religion occur. These conditions must be considered by identifying who is interpreting the religion and by what authority; the social, political, and economic circumstances surrounding these violent interpretations; and the believability of these interpretations by members of religious communities.

Combating Terrorism Exchange/GlobalECCO

GlobalECCO's mission is to build and strengthen the Combating Terrorism Fellowship Program's (CTFP) global alumni network of Combating Terrorism (CbT) experts and practitioners through innovative and engaging technologies and techniques that both enable and encourage collaborative partnership between individuals, nations, organizations, and cultures.

This is the first book in which counterinsurgency theory and social network analysis are coupled. Disrupting Dark Networks focuses on how social network analysis can be used to craft strategies to track, destabilize, and disrupt covert and illegal networks.

Imperialism remains a perennial issue in international relations today, and nowhere is this more evident than in the intensifying competition for global resources. Leo J. Blanken explains imperialism through an analysis of the institutions of both the expanding state and its targets of conquest.

Critics and supporters of unmanned aerial vehicles have divergent attitudes regarding their place in counterterrorism and covert operations. Both sides are quick to oversimplify the moral complexities that any assessment of drones should acknowledge. In a point-counterpoint debate, this book unravels the complex questions behind drone warfare.

lluminating the Dark Arts of Waris a comprehensive survey ofI the threats posed by terrorism, sabotage and subversion to the security of the United States. By looking at how these threats connect and what their limitations are, the book calls into question the belief that the United States is now facing unprecedented and unmanageable threats to its security from the "new conflict" carried on by al Qaeda, other non-state actors, and states using the dark arts of war. The book contrasts the limited threats posed by terrorism, sabotage and subversion with the resilience and power of America's government and political system.

The book should interest anyone concerned about America's security, particularly those involved in homeland security and those working to counter unconventional threats to the United States.

Defense Analysis Chair Dr. John Arquilla served as guest speaker for the ceremony. Arquilla is a prolific author and a much sought after subject matter expert in the areas of irregular warfare and military affairs. He spoke at length to the graduating class about the “big ideas” that come out of NPS and their ability to combat what he described as a “world war” against international terrorist and criminal networks.

Attendees of NPS' 2014 Spring Quarter Graduation Ceremony stand while the Color Guard parades the colors. NPS honored some 313 graduates earning 318 advanced degrees at the ceremony, including representatives from every branch of the U.S. military as well as Department of Defense civilians and students from 16 partnered and allied nations.

“Something has gone awry in the world, a very hard won victory over Al Qaeda in Iraq now hangs by a thread … the Taliban watches as the clock runs down in Afghanistan. The list goes on and on and extends to more than 30 armed conflicts around the world,” said Arquilla.

Quoting the poet Charles Churchill Arquilla described a world where “half-starved spiders feed on half starved flies,” and asked the graduating class, “Why is the world on fire?”

In response to his question, he suggested that there is a great, challenging battle being fought against dark networks, but he also spoke of the students’ role in combating those organizations.

“Most of us grew up in a cold war world characterized by an arms race to build new weapons. The world we are in today is characterized by a race to create new networks,” said Arquilla. “Networks have been changing the world over the last decade … They are flat, decentralized, with not much of what we would call leadership. They consist of small pieces loosely joined.”

But, he emphasized, “The education that you have received here has provided you with the tools you will need to face those networks.”

Arquilla then pointed to the example of Adm. William McRaven who while at NPS called for the U.S. military to build networks of its own, calling the effort to do so “one of the truly big ideas that have advanced out of the Naval Postgraduate School.”

Finally, Arquilla noted China’s role as a rising world power and Russia’s recent covert and overt military actions around the world. Despite these challenges, he remains optimistic in part because of the work done by the students at the university.

“There is hope, despite all of this, even hope for peace one day,” Arquilla said. “Across campus, our students and faculty are proposing big, game-changing ideas.” He would describe research into, amongst other things, alternative energies to power the fleet, nano-satellite based networks, and swarming technologies with the potential to counter Chinese, Russian and Iranian advances in unmanned technologies.

“What kid of place is NPS?” asked Arquilla. “It's a place where we redefine the possible … Where top tier faculty come together deeply with security professionals from all over the world."

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